Tue, 31 Mar 2015 09:02:27 -0700Tue, 31 Mar 2015 09:02:27 -0700PORTLAND - Mayor Charlie Hales says Portland's government is joining the reaction against an Indiana law aimed at preventing government from compelling people to do things they object to, such as catering gay weddings.

The law has been widely criticized as allowing discrimination against gays.

Hales said Monday he's suspended city-funded travel to Indiana. He called on business and civic leaders to do the same.

Spokesman Dana Haynes says Portland employees do occasionally travel to Indiana — the planning and development department leaders went recently for a forum. But he says travel is scheduled department by department, and it's not yet known if any trips were in the works.

Oregon regulators are considering sanctions against two bakers who refused to provide a wedding cake to a same-sex couple.

]]>Tue, 31 Mar 2015 09:02:27 -0700SALEM - Ski areas are asking the Oregon Legislature for enhanced protection from lawsuits after the state Supreme Court invalidated the broad liability waivers often printed on the back of lift tickets.

Ski facility executives told the Senate Judiciary Committee Monday that they may have to raise their prices if they aren't shielded from lawsuits. They warned of potentially dire consequences for the rural businesses that rely on skiers in winter months.

But Lauren Bagley, whose son was injured as a teenager at Mount Bachelor in 2006, said ski companies should be held accountable when their man-made equipment fails. Her son, Myles Bagley, was 18 when he fell on a jump and was paralyzed. Mount Bachelor has not been found at fault, but the Supreme Court decision in November gave Bagley the chance to argue in court that the resort was negligent.

Lauren Bagley acknowledged that some factors in ski injuries are beyond the control of ski operators, but said they shouldn't be able to shirk liability for man-made equipment or enhancements to the slope.

“Humans make mistakes,” she told the legislative committee. “They cannot deny the fact that possibly a mistake was made. Not everything is an accident. Some things are preventable. They just shift the blame to the skier, constantly to the skier.”

A 1979 Oregon law declares that skiing is an inherently risky activity and shields ski area operators from liability in some instances. Until last year's Supreme Court case, it was routinely used to block lawsuits by injured skiers and snowboarders.

The bill proposed this year would nullify the decision for future cases, making broad liability waivers enforceable in court. It would prevent lawsuits alleging the ski area was negligent or created unreasonable conditions. Ski resorts would only be liable for intentional acts by their staff or for “gross negligence,” a higher legal standard.

Without the liability waiver, ski areas would be forced to litigate each case brought by an injured skier or snowboarder, even if it ultimately proved it was not negligent, said Andy Ballyeat, a Bend attorney who represents Mount Bachelor and other ski businesses.

“The impact of not updating the skier statue will eventually cost jobs, limit access to public lands, and threaten the economic stability of these areas and the state of Oregon as a whole,” said Matthew Drake, chairman and chief executive of Mt. Hood Meadows.

Floyd Prozanski, a Eugene Democrat who chairs the Judiciary Committee, asked both sides to work together and see if there's room for agreement.

]]>Tue, 31 Mar 2015 09:01:04 -0700PORTLAND - Oregon Zoo officials in Portland say they have euthanized a 31-year-old elephant known for his enthusiasm for painting. They decided Rama was in too much pain from an old leg injury.

The Oregonian reports that Rama was euthanized Monday. Zoo officials say physical therapy techniques and anti-inflammatory medications were no longer working and new modifications did not improve his quality of life.

The elephant suffered a leg injury in 1990 when older female elephants pushed the young bull out of the Portland zoo's herd, a practice naturally seen in the wild. Rama fell into a moat, which has since been filled in.

Rama was a son of the zoo's patriarch elephant, Packy, who survives him.

Zoo officials say Rama had an unusually sweet temperament and loved to paint, creating artwork that was displayed in a Portland gallery.

McMinnville police identified the lone victim as Kenneth Boyd Carver, 53. He received on-scene treatment from McMinnville Fire Department medical personnel before being transported by Life Flight helicopter to Oregon Health & Science University in Portland. He is listed in critical condition.

About 10 p.m., Carver was driving a 1998 GMC Jimmy northbound on Hill Road when the vehicle left the roadway for an undetermined reason and collided with two trees.

The cause remains under investigation. Anyone with information is asked to contact officer Steve Macartney at 503-434-7307.

He’ll have some help from local fire departments, service clubs and student groups, who are organizing the Easter egg hunts. Most are scheduled for Saturday, April 4, and almost all are free.

The hunts will take place rain or shine. Even if it’s sunny out, children should wear shoes they don’t mind getting wet. They also should bring baskets in which to collect eggs.

And most important, they should arrive a few minutes early. Egg hunts start promptly and are over faster than you can say “Peter Cottontail.”

In McMinnville, children can attend the venerable Lions’ egg hunt on the McDaniel Lane side of Wortman Park. The free event will start promptly at 10 a.m. Saturday, April 4.

Or they can hunt eggs on the Linfield College campus. The egg hunt will start at 10 a.m. in the Oak Grove.

Before or after hunting eggs, families can enjoy a pancake breakfast at the McMinnville Senior Center, next to the park where the Lions’ event is held.

Walnut City Kiwanis and McMinnville High School Key Club will serve up pancakes, eggs and ham from 7 to 11 a.m. Cost is $6 general or $3 for ages 4-12, at the door or in advance from 503-472-4951.

Another McMinnville egg hunt will take place Sunday, April 5, at the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum. The Easter Bunny will be on hand for the activities, which cost $10 per child. For more information, call 503-434-4180.

Here’s a list of free egg hunts around the county:

Amity: 10 a.m. April 4, Amity City Park, for children 8 and younger, sponsored by the Amity Fire Department.

Dayton: Two hunts for two different age groups: 10 a.m. in Courthouse Square Park for grades grade three and younger; 10:30 a.m. at Dayton Grade School for fourth- through sixth-graders. Sponsored by Dayton High School FFA.

About $120,000 a year in property taxes is at issue in the case of the main museum campus, which includes the theater, and about $315,000 a year in the water park case. Evergreen has been witholding payment of the disputed taxes, pending definitive resolution, thus accruing interest on obligations upheld by the court.

In the main museum case, the court has asked the parties to see if they can’t resolve the rest through direct negotiation, which is now underway. Maytubby said the county is attempting to reach a meeting of the minds in talks with the museum’s legal counsel.

The museum argues it should be exempt from property taxes because it qualifies as an educational venue.

With backing from the state Department of Revenue, the county argues the museum operates partly as an educational venue and partly as a commercial venue, and the latter is subject to taxation. Accordingly, it has established percentages for various elements of the museum’s Highway 18 campus.

The dispute ended up in the Oregon Tax Court, with the state Department of Revenue arguing the county’s side.

The court did not come down cleanly on either side. Though it did rule on some issues, it left others unresolved for now. It agreed to rule on them as well, but only if the parties mounted another attempt to reach mutually agreeable terms first.

The museum’s big-screen theater, which the court notes airs movies that are directly related to aeronautics as well as movies “that can more correctly be described as having an entertainment function,” is one of the key areas of disagreement. It raises some of the same issues as the water park, which mixes scientific exhibits on the function of water in the environment with slides and pools the county considers commercial in nature.

Noting the Department of Revenue “questions whether science includes history and suggests that a film about Lewis and Clark should not be considered related to science,” the court said it considered the department’s view in that regard “too grudging” in the theater’s case.

But it also said, “There is no question that films having no connection, even indirect, with the purposes of the museum, are shown in the theater.” And it noted the theater is sometimes rented out to for-profit businesses.

“Neither party had the benefit of the court’s view on the proper approach to the allocation of space in the theater as between exempt and nonexempt uses,” it concluded. “Accordingly, the court will continue the case for the purpose of allowing the parties to consider whether they can agree on a conclusion as to partial exemption. If they cannot, the matter will be addressed in a further evidentiary hearing.”

The court sided with the museum on the complex’s cafes, kitchen and concession stand, ruling them exempt adjuncts of the museum’s main function. But it said, “As to the concession stand for the theater, no part of the stand space used for sale of concessions is exempt.”

The court sided with the county on the gift shop, noting, “The legislature has specifically disallowed exemption in the case of gift shops in art museums.” It found that, unlike food service venues, “gift shop space does not meet the substantial factor test.”

The court also issued a split ruling on classroom and mezzanine space.

The Department of Revenue asked that all personal property offered for rental to outside groups be declared taxable, and the court agreed. “The court concludes the taxpayer has borne its burden of proof as to the building space usage,” it said in its ruling.

The court rejected a state bid to have some of the land under the museum complex declared taxable, but also rejected a bid by the museum to have some adjacent portions of the site declared exempt. It explained its thinking on the latter by saying, “The court is of the view that while a campus atmosphere may be desirable, that alone is not sufficient to support exemption.”

It also rejected a museum request to have a berm exempted because it is required to maintain the berm under local land use regulations.

“Other land not covered by stipulations in this division of the court and extending beyond the footprint of the generally exempt improvements is taxable,” it found, “except for such a border portion as may be agreed upon by the parties and absent such agreement, by further trial proceedings as to what a typical border for such a building is.”

The parties also argued about the tax status of the museum parking lot. The court ruled that the portion used by employees and theater rental customers taxable and the rest exempt.